The present invention relates to interactive toys for children that talk and sing, and in particular, to interactive ride-on toys such as stick horses.
Ride-on toys, such as stick horses, are well known in the art and allow the child to pretend that he or she is riding an actual horse. Stick horses typically comprise a toy resembling a horse""s head connected to one end of a rigid stick. The child xe2x80x9cridesxe2x80x9d the stick horse by straddling the stick while holding the head portion.
Stick horses and similar toys are useful for enhancing a child""s motor skills, and developing the child""s imagination. However, such toys have limited play value because they are essentially static. Thus, there is a need for stick horse or similar ride-on toy that can interact with a child to encourage creative play and add teaching value to the toy.
These needs and other needs are satisfied by the interactive ride-on toy of the present invention, comprising a stuffed toy animal""s head connected to a riding member, such as a stick. The head includes a movable mouth, a nose, eyes and ears. At least one button is positioned on at least one ear, the button having an icon depicting an image. In a preferred embodiment, one ear contains two buttons and the other ear contains a single button. An electronically programmed chip responds to activation of the ear button(s) to operate a speaker to produce sounds relating to the image and to operate a mechanism for moving the mouth. Electrical power is supplied by a battery located in a compartment provided, e.g., in the back of the head, such as within the mane of the horse or pony. Where the riding member is a stick, it may comprise two or more parts to facilitate packaging. Where the animal is a play horse or pony, a mane of simulated horse hair is provided, together with a comb for combing the horse""s or pony""s mane.